Lionel Messi launched into an off-camera outburst during a live TV interview after Argentina's win against the Netherlands on Friday night.
Argentina are through to the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar after winning a shootout. The ill-tempered knockout game, which saw 15 yellow cards brandished by Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz, went to penalties after it finished 2-2 in normal time.
Messi was also spotted arguing with Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal and his assistant Edgar Davids at full-time, he is then believed to have turned to Dutch double goalscorer Wout Weghorst during an interview and shouted: "What are you looking at fool/stupid?. Get back there."
Messi played a crucial role in Argentina's win. He set up Nahuel Molina's opener in the first half before converting a penalty after the interval. Argentina were heading to a comfortable win before Wout Weghorst came off the bench to score a late brace.
Neither team could make the breakthrough in extra-time and penalties were needed to settle the tie. Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was the hero at the Education City Stadium, as he denied Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis from 12 yards.
There were several fiery incidents during the game. In the 88th minute, Van Dijk brutally pushed Leandro Paredes to the ground after the Juventus midfielder produced a wild challenge on Nathan Ake and booted a ball at the Netherlands dugout.
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Then, when Weghorst equalised in the 101st minute to send the game into extra-time, Angel Di Maria furiously threw a water bottle in frustration. Referee Mateu Lahoz often found himself breaking up the two sets of players, including after the shootout.
Messi was right in the thick of the action. He was seen cupping his ears at Van Gaal and Davids, and he also had a war of words with the two coaches at the end of the game. There's no suggestion at this stage that Messi's X-rated rant was aimed at either coach.
Messi, who was named as the Player of the Match, was critical of Van Gaal and Mateu Lahoz after the game. Messi told one reporter: "Van Gaal says that they play good football, but what he did was put tall people and hit long balls."
Messi is also quoted as saying: "I don't want to talk about the referee because you can't be honest. If you talk they sanction you, FIFA must think about it, they can't put a referee like that for these instances, they can't put a referee who isn't up to the task."
Controversy aside, Messi was delighted to beat the Netherlands and keep his World Cup dream alive. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has never won the prestigious international competition and, at 35, the tournament in Qatar is likely to be his last chance.
Messi added: "A lot of joy, a lot of happiness. We didn't have to go to extra time or penalties, we had to suffer. But we got through and it is something impressive... We are enjoying a lot with the people, going step by step. We are very happy."
